Free Tickets

Last summer my husband and I each received two tickets for free day passes to a local park I'd never heard of - Wheels' Fun Park.  Since I haven't lived here that long and never looked for that sort of venue, I wasn't surprised that it was new to me.  It sounded like lots of fun, but trying to find an open day + good weather didn't happen.

Until Father's Day.  After checking out all the things the park had to offer, we were a bit worried that the kids wouldn't be allowed to participate in everything, but we decided to go check it out.  If nothing else, they'd love the mini golf and the three-story indoor playground, right?

So since Father's Day dawned clear, sunny, and all-out gorgeous, we ate at a favorite restaurant - outside on the patio.

Then we headed to Wheels'.  First, we tackled mini golf.  

Then we went for a go-kart ride.  I'd never done that before.  Kinda scary at first, riding around so close to the ground in those shaky things, but the 1/4 mile course was fun.  Of course, Daddy won.  

Since the kids weren't old enough to ride on their own, our ride driving them didn't count, and we got an additional ride.  The single go-karts were a bit easier to drive - though I still couldn't get a picture of them.  All hands on the wheel, you know.  ;-)

The batting cages were next, and this put My Little Man in all his glory!  He LOVED this and tried out different pitching speeds and types of balls.

Our Big Helper wasn't too enthralled with the idea of having balls thrown at her - well, across home plate, but she was afraid they'd be at her - but she tried one round.  She happily passed off her second token to her eager brother.

I'd never been in a batting cage before, either, and it was fun.  It's been a long time since I had the chance to bat - at least, at a ball not thrown by a five-year-old or one not made of foam.  

After another round of go-kart rides, we headed for the roller-skating rink.  Our Big Helper suddenly got the hang of skating after a few laps around the floor, and then she was eager to teach her brother.

I've never been a very good skater, so it was hard to go at their speed - but especially to stop.  The rink is cool in that they play music videos on the walls and have disco-ball lighting, but there are also no walls to the skating floor.  Since I never learned to stop, that was a slight problem for me - and I crashed badly while trying to reach the Big Helper at one point.  I think I need more lessons with that toe thingy, but it was fun!

After a stint in the huge playground - the kids loved the many ball pits and slides - we headed out.  We all had a favorite activity at Wheels' and some that weren't personally our thing, but there were also things we all liked, and the best part was that we could do it all together.

We never would've tried this park without the free tickets, but it made for a great afternoon in the sunshine.  They were a great gift - and it made for a really great day!

For more GratiTuesday, visit Heavenly Homemakers!